Doors 7:30p
Program 8:00p
Tickets $12

UnionDocs
352 Onderdonk Ave
Ridgewood, NY

As our next collaboration with our friends at Nooks and Crannies (犄角旮旯), we will be joined in September by co-directors and producers Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan to present a compelling portrait of colonialism, economic development, and Chinese influence on Africa: Made in Ethiopia.

Filmed over four years as a Chinese factory complex entered a region in central Ethiopia, Made in Ethiopia explores the complex implications of modern economic development, critiquing Western influence on China and the role of corporate imperial power disguised as progress and prosperity. The subtle documentary zooms in on the lives of three women standing at the crossroads of rapid development. A Chinese businesswoman drives ambitious expansion, while a local farmer and factory worker grapple with promises of prosperity and the true cost of progress in their transforming community. The International Documentary Association notes that the film embraces complexity as a strength, “powerfully capturing the emotional toll of colonial legacies” and “invit(ing) viewers to consider subjects who are seldom granted agency and dimension in Western depictions.”

Following the screening, Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan will join for a conversation about their creative process, global industrialization, and the political climate that shapes this work.

Special thanks to the Nooks and Crannies programmer Huilin Chen and the whole crew who helped to bring this together.

Program

Made in Ethiopia by Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan

USA, UK, Denmark, South Korea, Canada / 2024 / 91 mins

When a massive Chinese industrial park lands in rural Ethiopia, a dusty farming town finds itself at the new frontier of globalization. The sprawling factory complex’s formidable Chinese director Motto now needs every bit of mettle and charm she can muster to push through a high-stakes expansion that promises 30,000 new jobs. Ethiopian farmer Workinesh and factory worker Beti have staked their futures on the prosperity the park promises. But as initial hope meets painful realities, they find themselves, like their country, at a pivotal crossroads.

Filmed over four years with singular access, Made in Ethiopia lifts the curtain on China’s historic but misunderstood impact on Africa, and explores contemporary Ethiopia at a moment of profound crisis. The film throws audiences into two colliding worlds: an industrial juggernaut fueled by profit and progress, and a vanishing countryside where life is still measured by the cycle of the seasons. And its nuance, complexity and multi-perspective approach go beyond black and white narratives of victims and villains. As the three women’s stories unfold, Made in Ethiopia challenges us to rethink the relationship between tradition and modernity, growth and welfare, the development of a country and the well-being of its people.

Program Duration: 91 mins

Bios

Xinyan Yu is an Emmy-winning journalist and filmmaker with nearly 15 years of experience crafting intimate, character-driven films across continents. From factory floors in rural Ethiopia to wildfire zones in Hawaii, she specializes in vérité and investigative storytelling that blends cinematic intimacy with journalistic rigor through a deeply human lens. A former BBC producer and now an independent filmmaker, Xinyan has directed and produced work for major broadcasters including PBS, BBC, Channel News Asia and NHK. She‘s a New America National Fellow, a Firelight Media Doc Lab fellow, a Brown Girls Doc Mafia Sustainable Artist fellow and a Yaddo Residency alum.

Max Duncan is an award-winning filmmaker, cinematographer and journalist whose work has appeared on platforms including the BBC, PBS, The Guardian, The New York Times and Al Jazeera. He worked for a decade in China, first as a video journalist for Reuters news agency in Beijing and then independently, exploring the country’s meteoric rise from many angles. He has since reported widely across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Max has won a World Press Photo Award, been supported by organizations including Pulitzer, and is an alumnus of Yaddo and Logan Nonfiction programs.

Isabelle Niu is a New York-based video journalist, podcaster, as well as the founder of Baihua Media—an incubator that develops audio projects for and by the Chinese diaspora.